“That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (Acts 17:10–11, NLT)
In the early 20th century, many people communicated long distance using “the wire”. “The wire” was usually a telegraph system in which morse code or some other type of communication was used to transmit information between the continents, overseas, or over long distances. Once telephones were invented, the telegraph system was largely abandoned as it became possible to communicate by voice.
In the days of the telegraph, “a wealthy woman who was traveling overseas saw a bracelet she thought was irresistible, so she sent her husband this cable: “Have found wonderful bracelet. Price $75,000. May I buy it?”
Her husband promptly wired back this response: “No, price too high.”
But the cable operator omitted the comma, so the woman received this message: “No price too high.” Elated, she purchased the bracelet. Needless to say, at her return her husband was dismayed. It was just a little thing—a comma—but what a difference it made! (Leslie B. Flynn, The Twelve).
This missing comma from the telegraph made all the difference. The sentence read very differently without that small punctuation.
The above example shows that miscommunication occurs when people are not made aware of important things. That also happens spiritually when people are ignorant of the foundations of faith found in the Bible. If you misunderstand God’s Word in the Bible, you will miscommunicate what it means to be faithful. If pastors and priests are given false teachings by seminaries, the churches become filled with mixed messages from God that will always be full of error and will lead people astray. If people ignore their Bible readings, they will never really understand who God is or what Jesus taught. It is all too easy to have a misguided faith or misunderstood idea of God or grace or forgiveness or love or any number of spiritual basics.
A study was done a few decades ago looking at what Christians believed. A majority of Christians could not say who delivered the Sermon on the Mount! It was the largest and most attended sermon Jesus ever gave! Yet, all too many Christians did not know it. Why? They did not understand even the basics of faith. (See George Gallup, “Religion in America”, Leadership, Fall 1987).
In a Time magazine article, it was reported that 84% of Americans believed in the Ten Commandments in 1979. For that same article, these people were asked to name five of the Ten Commandments. More than half of those who said they believed in the Ten Commandments could name even five of them!!!! (Dec 31, 1979).
How can Americans who believe in the Ten Commandments not know them? How can Christians not know that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount? It’s all because of ignorance.
Ignorance is often defined as a “lack of education, awareness, or information”. The reason many Americans do not know the Ten Commandments any longer is because they don’t teach them in schools like they did in the early and middle 20th century. They also do not teach them in some churches! The reason why many Christians do not know the origins of the Sermon on the Mount is that they don’t read their Bible. Ignorance of God is always caused by the lack of people being taught or educated about who God is and what Jesus’s life was all about. All too often, this spiritual ignorance results in not only a lack of faith but a complete misunderstanding of God’s place and purpose.
When spiritual ignorance occurs, all kinds of modern errors can be passed on as holy when they are not! There are churches where people believe Jesus was just a man, contrary to New Testament teaching. There are Christians who hold that King David of the Old Testament had a homosexual relationship with Jonathon, when he clearly did not. There are online sites that teach that you don’t have to study the Bible to know God more fully. There are YouTube voices with thousands of followers who speak about spiritual things with minimal knowledge of Biblical principles. Our spiritual world is rife with misinformation about God and Jesus. Ignorance of true faith is rampant.
In our scripture reading for today, there is mention of new Christians in Berea. These followers of Jesus were new to the faith and desired to know more about God in Christ. What did the early Christian church do for these new Christians? They immediately sent Paul and Silas to teach them about Jesus and God’s Word. As a sign of true faith, these new Christians “listened eagerly to Paul’s message” (Acts 17:10). They didn’t stop there. Not wanting to be ignorant about the gospel, these new Christians “searched the scriptures day after day” to confirm Paul’s teachings and to learn the basics of faith (Acts 17:11).
At a school in New York, college students were asked basic questions about the world. When asked who the first president of the United States was, dozens couldn’t say George Washington. When asked where Mexico was, a good number couldn’t point to it on a map. After being questioned about the Civil War in America, many couldn’t even say who fought there. What was interesting, though, is that these college students could tell you who Kim Kardashian was. They could tell you which celebrities were in the Star Wars movies. Less than a handful knew that Jesus was Jewish!
Our world is full of ignorance. Why do modern people seem so ignorant of history, geography, and facts? Why do church people lack basic knowledge of the faith? The new Berean Christians from Acts 17 knew the importance of reading scripture to find answers to questions of faith. Why won’t modern Christians use scripture to learn the same? Study your Bible! Learn to pray! Educate yourself on the life and death and resurrection of Jesus! Find answers in the Bible! You have to know God’s truth in order to be set free from sin (John 8:32)!
In the days of the telegraph, “a wealthy woman who was traveling overseas saw a bracelet she thought was irresistible, so she sent her husband this cable: “Have found wonderful bracelet. Price $75,000. May I buy it?”
Her husband promptly wired back this response: “No, price too high.”
But the cable operator omitted the comma, so the woman received this message: “No price too high.” Elated, she purchased the bracelet. Needless to say, at her return her husband was dismayed. It was just a little thing—a comma—but what a difference it made! (Leslie B. Flynn, The Twelve).
This missing comma from the telegraph made all the difference. The sentence read very differently without that small punctuation.
The above example shows that miscommunication occurs when people are not made aware of important things. That also happens spiritually when people are ignorant of the foundations of faith found in the Bible. If you misunderstand God’s Word in the Bible, you will miscommunicate what it means to be faithful. If pastors and priests are given false teachings by seminaries, the churches become filled with mixed messages from God that will always be full of error and will lead people astray. If people ignore their Bible readings, they will never really understand who God is or what Jesus taught. It is all too easy to have a misguided faith or misunderstood idea of God or grace or forgiveness or love or any number of spiritual basics.
A study was done a few decades ago looking at what Christians believed. A majority of Christians could not say who delivered the Sermon on the Mount! It was the largest and most attended sermon Jesus ever gave! Yet, all too many Christians did not know it. Why? They did not understand even the basics of faith. (See George Gallup, “Religion in America”, Leadership, Fall 1987).
In a Time magazine article, it was reported that 84% of Americans believed in the Ten Commandments in 1979. For that same article, these people were asked to name five of the Ten Commandments. More than half of those who said they believed in the Ten Commandments could name even five of them!!!! (Dec 31, 1979).
How can Americans who believe in the Ten Commandments not know them? How can Christians not know that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount? It’s all because of ignorance.
Ignorance is often defined as a “lack of education, awareness, or information”. The reason many Americans do not know the Ten Commandments any longer is because they don’t teach them in schools like they did in the early and middle 20th century. They also do not teach them in some churches! The reason why many Christians do not know the origins of the Sermon on the Mount is that they don’t read their Bible. Ignorance of God is always caused by the lack of people being taught or educated about who God is and what Jesus’s life was all about. All too often, this spiritual ignorance results in not only a lack of faith but a complete misunderstanding of God’s place and purpose.
When spiritual ignorance occurs, all kinds of modern errors can be passed on as holy when they are not! There are churches where people believe Jesus was just a man, contrary to New Testament teaching. There are Christians who hold that King David of the Old Testament had a homosexual relationship with Jonathon, when he clearly did not. There are online sites that teach that you don’t have to study the Bible to know God more fully. There are YouTube voices with thousands of followers who speak about spiritual things with minimal knowledge of Biblical principles. Our spiritual world is rife with misinformation about God and Jesus. Ignorance of true faith is rampant.
In our scripture reading for today, there is mention of new Christians in Berea. These followers of Jesus were new to the faith and desired to know more about God in Christ. What did the early Christian church do for these new Christians? They immediately sent Paul and Silas to teach them about Jesus and God’s Word. As a sign of true faith, these new Christians “listened eagerly to Paul’s message” (Acts 17:10). They didn’t stop there. Not wanting to be ignorant about the gospel, these new Christians “searched the scriptures day after day” to confirm Paul’s teachings and to learn the basics of faith (Acts 17:11).
At a school in New York, college students were asked basic questions about the world. When asked who the first president of the United States was, dozens couldn’t say George Washington. When asked where Mexico was, a good number couldn’t point to it on a map. After being questioned about the Civil War in America, many couldn’t even say who fought there. What was interesting, though, is that these college students could tell you who Kim Kardashian was. They could tell you which celebrities were in the Star Wars movies. Less than a handful knew that Jesus was Jewish!
Our world is full of ignorance. Why do modern people seem so ignorant of history, geography, and facts? Why do church people lack basic knowledge of the faith? The new Berean Christians from Acts 17 knew the importance of reading scripture to find answers to questions of faith. Why won’t modern Christians use scripture to learn the same? Study your Bible! Learn to pray! Educate yourself on the life and death and resurrection of Jesus! Find answers in the Bible! You have to know God’s truth in order to be set free from sin (John 8:32)!